Safety door



@c Z7, 193i.

A. A. THOMAS SAFETY DOOR Filed Nov. 24, 1928 INVENTOR Patented Got. 27, 1931 rezan?.

PATENT OFFEC .ADOLPH A. THOMAS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SAFETY DOOR .Application inea November 24, 192s. serial No. 321,528.

My invention relates to doors and its object is to provide safety means for preventing the closing of a door when'a persons fingers are in the door crack. To this end I mount finger-controlled stop mechanism in the door casing. rihis mechanism is normally inoperative and permits closing of the door in the usual way. When, however, a persons fingers are placed against the edge of the door casing, they press against a movable member which automatically projects one or more stops out of the casing edge, and those stops prevent the door from being closed on the fingers. As soon as the fingers are removed, the stops are automatically withdrawn and the doorV can be closed. In a preferred form of my invention, the stops are actuated by electric mechanism including a coil which is energized by the finger-pressed member closing an electric circuit. Atthe present time, mynew safety device is particularly useful in automobiles, where people often' get their fingers crushed in the door crack.

One embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 shows an inside View of an automobile equipped with my safety door device, which is diagrammatically indicated in dotted outline; Y

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of my device, the parts being in normal position;

Fig. 3, which is similar to Fig. 2, shows the parts in actuated position, with the stops projected to prevent closing of the door;

Fig. 4 is a face view (on line 4-4 of Fig. 2) of the door casing in which the safety device is mounted;

Fig. 5 represents a transversesection on line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig 6 is a transverse section on line 6--6 of Fig. 3, showing how the iingers are prevented from being crushed when the door encounters the projected stops in the casing; and

Fig. 7 shows a slightly modified construction, this view being a cross-section similar to Fig. 5.

The fragmentary View shown in Fig. 1 is supposed to represent the interior of any standard make of automobile in which a door 1() is hinged to the car body along the edge 12. One of the hinges is shown at 13 in Fig. 6. In this instance, the door casing is made of sheet metal and comprises an outer wall 14, an inner wall 15, and a transverse connecting wall V16 which forms the edge of the casing. The edge 16 has an elongated opening 17, and aI pair of slots 18 arranged above and below the opening. The side walls of each slot 18 are formed by a pair of lugs 19, which may conveniently be formed as integral projections of the casing edge 16. A rotary stop 20 is mounted on a pin 21 carried by each pair of lugs 19. One of the casing walls 14 or 15 has aI hole 22 in alignment with each pivot pin 21 to permit insertion of the latter between the supporting lugs 19. The rotary stops 20 are here shown in the form of disks F of hard metal having a segment cut away to form a straight edge 23, which is normally flush with the edge 16 of 'the door casing to permit closing of the door 10, as will be clear from Fig. 2.

A base plate 24, which may be an ordinary channel bar, is mounted between the walls 14 and 15 of the ldoor casing to which it is secured by rivets 25 or otherwise. A rightangled bracket 26, preferably of non-magnetic material, is mounted on channel bar 24 in any practical way, as by rivets 27, and a coil 28 is attached to the bottom of the bracket. The horizontal arm of bracket 26 has a hole 29 in axial alignment with a sleeve or tube 30 on which the coil is wound. A mag netic plunger 31 is connected at opposite ends by rods 32 with arms 33 projecting radially from the rotary stops 20. The upper arm 33 is normally held against a fixed stop 34 by a contracting coil spring 35. One end of spring 35 may be attached to the stop 34 and the other end to the plunger 31. The stop 34 may be a pin riveted to one of the casing walls 14 or 15, or it may be an integral lug struck up from the metal of the wall.

It is clear from Fig. 2 that, when the spring 35 holds the upper arm 33 against the Xed stop 34, the magnetic core or plunger 31 is above the coil and the edges 23 of stops 2() r(il) are substantially Hush With the edge 16 of the door casing, so that the door can be closed .in the usual Way. lf We non suppose the coil 28 to be energized by an electric current 'of suliicient strength, the magnetic plunger `31 is instantly pulled down into the position shoWnin. Fig. This downward movement is limited by atixed. stop 36 arranged. in the ypath ot the lovver arm 33. .The downward movement of the'solenoid core, 3l rotates the stops 2O through an angle of' about ninety-"degrees into the locking position shown in Fig.

3. If an attempt should be made to closeVV i. the door While'the stops 2.0 are in actuated 6-.lt desired.. the door edgef37 may have Y* blocks139: of hard metal inserted at points Wherethey stri-ke the stops 20. Thecontacting; edge 40.Y ot each stop dislr20'r1nay be bevelled 'suiciently to present a. tlat surface tothe d`ooredge37 When` the partscome inte contact, as shown in Fig.'l 6. p l

YI shall nowdescribe how the coil 28 1s auto.-

matical-ly energized when a person i-n the car.

places his `fingers against the edge. 16. et the door casing, as hap-pens so veryfreqaientl-y. The' supporting bar 24- carries a strip 41. of insulating material, which may bef a piece. of incldedbakelite, rubber, porcelain, andk others .along the same. line.. The' insulating' base 41 carries al pair of- .contact plates or strips. 42

Y yand 43y of goed conducting metal... The arrangement. of the contacts 42 and 43 issuch that normally they are electrically separated tolreep the circuit ol coil 28fopen. The con-V tact 42. is a thinstrip or bar mounted in a recess44 of', the insulatingbase. 4l. A simple vvaytorfastcn the stripV 42 in. place isfto` provide the ends of the recess 44 with undercut fslotst into which. theends oiithe strip; are

inserted.. It desired, screws 46- maya-lso be.

used tol tasten. theV contact strip421tothe base 41. The outer-contact 43fisconnectedf-tc the V.insulal-tingl base: 4l:by.bolts- 4Z, which pass through Y the channel:A bar 24 and. y'thus also serveV as vmeans ter mounting? they hase. on; `the i channel bar., as' clearly shown iniFig.2. ,It is understood, .of course, that the various Vparte referred.V to are mounted on the' channelfbar 2:4 beto-re the latter'is inserted. infthe door casing. Y

Y As seen in. 4i,.the contact plate 43 prac.-l

n tically covers the elongated opening 17 in the :edge 16 of the door casing; The materialof 'which .the contactplate43-is madel imparts 'the right degree otv flexibilityor.' resilience, so

that it Viseasily pushed inWardlyQa-'gainst the I door casing; .The flexed'v position. of Contact platev 43i's`shown Fig; 3, ',The.frnernre nt When the contacts 42 and 43 touch each other,A

the circuit of battery 48 is closed through the coil 28, Which instantlypulls downv the magnetic plunger 3l and moves the stops 2O into the door-stopping position shown in Figs. 3

.and'6, thereby'preventing injury to the fingers. @ne ot the bolts 47Y may be used as a binding post for thebattery lead 49, Which is therefore groundedv to the metal et the car. The other binding post 50 is insulated from the channellv bar 24 and is electrically connected to the insulated contactplate 42. Consequently Whenever the flexible contact- `plate 43..is. pushed bythe ngers against the fixed' contact plate42,the coil 28 is energized tofmove the stops. 20.- into safety; position. lt is iinmateriahoi course', Which one oi the contacts 42 and 43.7isinsulated or grounded; in fact, both'may bef insulated from the metal otV the car, 'but thatis a. needless precaution.

The length and position of the contact plate 43 are so chosen in each particular case as to coyerthatp'ortion of. the door'casingvvhere a person inthe car Weuldbe liable to. place his lingers. The draw-ings. are therefore not te betaken as showing accurate dimensions applicable in all cases. Different ,makes and sizes of; car'Y Will probably require different positioning of. the. safety` device, particularly With respect tothefeniblecntact strip43.

Miy'rnew safetyv .device can. be. installed in any makcof car on the. market. f Except. tor thel outer flexible Contact 43,. all .parts of the mech anismare invisible, and enen the contact plate 43 is. hardly noticeable, bec'auseit is effect4 merely a. yieldablepcrtioni oir" the. edge 116 of the. door casing.. It. isv supposed that the yieldable strip 43E Wil-lhav-e the same'colcr as. the edgefof. the. door casing, so that it is practically invisible even when the door is open. ln some instances it may be desirable toen-tend. the flexible strip 43 across the edge off the inner Wall 15.4,. as shown in Fig.V 7, wherebyV thecircuit of coil 28 is closed even Tvhen a'person places his fingers against the corner `of the casing edge Without bending them. themannerillustrat'ed in Fig.. 6. f The.v flexible plate 43' need not itself be of metal,. for it maybe aftensioned strip of rubber orv elastic fabric .carrying a metallic contact @nits inner side.l The idea is to make the part 43 so easily-movable that even the'pres sure offa. babys fingers will close the circuit Ythrough'coil 28 andV throw the stops 2O into safety; position. v It' is-'appare'nt thaton-ly one Uil stop need be used, but l thinltvvoare better.

nth-e drawings lf havefshoivn the stops. attached to` that edge ofthe door casing Where thedcor is hinged, but they' mayv be' attached door is hung. e If the stops are oppositefthe will thus beheld ajar Without hurting the fingers... y The inside w lining .crlcovering 5l,

"toftheopposite' edgadepending on the Waythe i:

usually of cloth or leather, extends to the edge of the door casing, and in the construction of F ig. 7 this lining yields along the edge when the plate 43 is pushed in by the fingers. As far as I know, I am the first to provide a door structure with stops which are automaticaily moved into door-stopping position when a person places his fingers in the door crack, and l claim this feature in a fundament-al way, irrespective of the particular mechanism that operates the stop or stops.

Although l have shown and described a specific construction, I want it understood that my invention is not limited to any details set forth, unless they are included in the claims that define the scope of my invention. To prevent possible confusion, I will explain that when l speak of a door structure in the claims, I include not only the door itself but also the casing or frame on which the door is mounted.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination of a door casing and a door hinged thereto, a stop normally in position to permit closing of the door, and mechanism controlled by the pressure of fingers placed against the edge of the casing to move said stop into the path of the door and thereby prevent closing thereof, said stop and actuating mechanism being mounted on said door casing.

2. The combinat-ion of a door casing and a door hinged thereto, a stop mounted in said casing normally in position to permit closing of the door by hand, and electric mechanism controlled by fingers placed in the door crack for automatically actuating said stop to prevent closing oi the door, said stop when actuated always arresting the hinged door at the same predetermined angle from closed position.

3. A door casing provided with a movable stop which is normally inoperative and permits closing of a door hinged to said casing, a movable member mounted on said casing where a person would be liable to place his fingers when the door is open, and means for projecting said stop beyond the edge oi the casing when said member is actuated by pressure of the fingers, said projecting stop preventing the door from being closed.

t. A door casing provided at one edge with an elongated opening, a movable plate normally closing said opening, said plate being adapted te be pushed inwardly by the fingers, a movable stop carried by said casing and normally held in a position to permit closing et the door hinged to the casing, and means operated by the inward movementoi" said plate to actua-te said stop into a position to prevent closing of the door.

5. A door casing provided at one edge with a movable stop which is normally inoperative and permits closing of the door hinged to said casing, a yieldable member forming part of the casing edge where a person would be liable to place his fingers, and electric mechanism automatically energized when said member is moved by finger pressure to project said stop beyond the edge of the casing and thereby prevent closing of the door until the fingers are removed from said member.

6. A door casing comprising outer and inner walls, a pair of spaced flanges between said Walls, a rotary stop pivoted t0 said anges between the same andnormally in a position to permit closing of a door hinged to said casing, a-movable member arranged at an edge of said casing where a person would be liable to place his fingers, and connections mounted in said Casing to rotate said stop into a position to prevent closing the door when said member is actuated by pressure of the fingers.

7. in a door structure, a casing having an edge provided with a movable electric contact, a second electric contact associated with said movabie Contact which is normally out of engagement with the second Contact, said movable contact being adapted to be pushed against the second Contact to close an electric circuit by the pressure of fingers held against the edge of the door casing, a stop carried by said casing and normally held in a position to permit closing of the door, and electric connections automatically operated when said contacts are brought together to project said stop out oit the door casing and thereby prevent closing of the door until the fingers are removed.

8. A door easing provided at one edge with a pair of pivote disks having each a segment cut away to form a straight edge which is normaliy iiush with the adjacent edge of the casing, whereby a door hinged to said casing is normally free to be closed, a yieldable member forming,` part of the casing edge where a person would be liable to place his fingers, and elect-ric mechanism automatically energized when said member is operated by the pressure ot fingers to rotate said disks Vand project them beyond the edge of the casing, whereby said disks act as positive stops to prevent closing of the door until the iingers are'removed from said yicldable member.

9. A door casing structure of sheet metal having outer and inner walls, a portion of one edge ofsaid casing being cut away to provide an elongated opening, a base member mounted Vbetween said walls and securedthereto opposite said opening, movable stopscarried by said casing walls above and below said opening and normally held in a position to permit closing of a door hinged to the casing structure. a movable plate carried by said base member to close said opening, said plate being adapted to be pushed inwardly by the fingers, electric mechanism mounted on said base member,

by 1s normally flush With the adjacentfedgeof the casing,-and means-foractuating: said 4 :disk to 'project the same beyond the edge of the casing and thereby prevent 'closing oi and'operatively conneoted to said stops to aotuate the same; intogfa. position-.1 toqprevent 'closing of; the; doors andi eirjeu-tj connections V controlled ley-said movableplate; to energize sadmeohanismfc; e Y 1- v Y 10. A. safety door structure cempi-mingv a door-,basing and agswinging door, and means Y Carried; by;said easing for automatioally stoprbingthe @losing door at a predetermined angle .Y from `closed :position When. a persons fingers aref placed- =against the easingy in theY door crack.

.1115A safetyidoorf'struoture y,comprising a A door casing on which a *door is movablyf sufpportedya movable` vstop mounted onai. vertical portion of saidfeasing and' normallyl permittingfthe door to -be.olo;sed, and means* s vautomatically controlledbyv the. plasir-1gk of a persons fingers against the door; easing for Y projecting-said stop toprefvent closing of tliegdoonx f v v M 12., Avvsaety door structurel 'comprising a door easing; onjwhioh a door is, movably mounted, avmovable, stop normally in position', to permit closing of the door, aA yield? able member mounted on said door easing,

and means automatically operated when 3 `ozlioslng of the door.,

13.y A safety doorstruetre Comprisingv a door oasi-ng and: a' door.: movably mounted thereon, a. movable stop normally in positionV to permitelosing of the: doorysaid door eas.-V ing having a recess or chamber between its outerv Walls, and mechanismv `concealedrv in said recess and controlled by the pressure of fingers placed against the edge of the easing te movesaid-fs'top! intorthe. path of the.y door Yand thereby prevent @losing` thereof.

14.A Ajsafety door structurecomprising a A doorl oasingon which a door is movabl-y surpported'7 afpivoted" disk 'mountedat one edge ofv the door oasing-,saiddisk havimgfl a mentent away' to forma straight edgel which the doorl 15; A safety door strnotureprovided with 'n' avnormall'y inoperative stop mounted in the framework surrounding the door,v and mea-ns carried by said framework for automatically proJeot-ing said stop to prevent closing` of the 'door when a personsfingers are placed i .in the door eraok, saldqstopy always'arr'esting f -f vthe door at they same predetermined distance from-*closed position.- Y 'ADULPHA. Y

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